We Don't Want Revenge, We Want Self-Defense

I think that Michael Savage should put a little more emphasis on self-defense rather than revenge. When a caller disagrees with him on the war, Dr. Savage uses the argument, "If someone punches you in the face, are you just going to stand there and not punch him back?!" I suppose if the puncher walks away and never punches you again, all is fine (and perhaps revenge is not needed). However if the puncher prepares to punch you again (and you really don't have time to waste suffering from another bloody nose), then by all means punch the initial puncher back HARD.. right?

Dr. Savage is on the side of us conservatives, and he seems to back up the fact that the U.S. Constitution should preserve its any remaining Christian influence. Without some religious basis of some sort, there would be chaos & moral relativism right? Forget about swearing to tell the truth while one's hand is on the Bible in courts, and you slightly further detach humans from their conscience. If even simply the possibility of a higher power existing be taken away in courts, then any possibility of needing to feel guilty after bearing false witness against a neighbor is also taken away (resulting in an increase of cold-hearted liars... well of course they wouldn't be supposed liars unless they are caught in our liberal secular society).

Yesterday Dr. Savage talked about how the U.S. is too weak & demasculinized. Then he mentions something from the Bible: "The meek shall inherit the earth" and he said afterward along the lines of, "The meek will inherit a corner!" (I forgot what he said exactly.. sorry =/).

Not that I'm suggesting Michael Savage should be a total hardcore Christian preacher on his program, but he shouldn't contradict Christianity either as long as it's a religion that has some influence on our American culture. Not that I've ever heard him contradict Christianity except in just one concept which you can also find in his book Liberalism is a Mental Disorder (how we need more "revenge" instinct in us).

No not revenge, but self-defense rather. You could say I don't disagree with Michael Savage's viewpoints (but his angry-tone/humor really wouldn't work with a lot of people's personalities in political debates), but I just disagree with that one particular wording (he needs to replace that word "revenge" with "self-defense"). We don't want revenge against 9-11 because revenge is bad; we want to fight the dangerous spread of jihad (attacks are being carried out every single day if you check out http://www.thereligionofpeace.com ). I think that Christians can be just as tough as Michael Savage is, and I do think we can have a backbone. But it seems to me that Christians (including myself) have the hardest time drawing a line between what is revenge & what is self-defense. My current temporary philosophy on that is: use instinct to judge from situation to situation I suppose?

As for "turning the other cheek" as mentioned in the Bible, I believe that is actually referring to fellow Christians (I will emphasize that these Christians should be conservative & on our side of the culture war... because so-called "Christians" who are pro-choice or pro-gay marriage aren't really Christians, but rather are too vain to accept verbal persecution from mainstream secular society).

I forgot about, "turning the other cheek"

Matthew 55:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

A: Jesus' complete statement is "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Of course, any striking is a painful blow, but the striking in this case is meant as a gross insult (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:20). If a right-handed person strikes someone's right cheek, presumably it is a slap by the back of the hand. A fist striking you would be on the left cheek. So this teaching by Jesus is not about self-defense, but about an attack on your dignity.

In the eastern culture slapping someone is considered an insult of the highest order. But Jesus says that His disciples should gladly be willing to endure the insult again.

(no subject)

You're right Michael Savage isn't Christian, but he isn't Jewish either. He claims to not be religious, but he does say that he doesn't "believe" in the existence of God, rather he "knows" that God exists. He came from a Jewish-Russian family I believe, but it sounds like his family was never practicing any religion (Dr. Savage mentioned on his show that his father didn't believe in God). Dr. Savage does defend Christians as well as Jews a lot, this week on one of his programs (I believe it might've been this Tuesday) Michael Savage said something along the lines of, "The Prophet Muhammed, they now refer to him as prophet but what about Jesus? They NEVER say Lord Jesus.. Christians believe he is Lord right? Those filthy GRRRR.. grr GRRR" *SAVAGE + commercial break*. I assume Jewish & Christian conservatives are on the same side of the culture-war, we both follow the 10 Commandments. I personally don't think of myself as having opposite opinions on everything compared to conservative Jews. But what I really meant to get across in this post was, replace the world "revenge" with "self-defense" because that's what it is. We kill them or they follow through with their anticipation of bombing us first then killing more "infidels" (lives will be lost either way). I agree with Michael Savage, but I just wish he would replace the word "revenge" with "self-defense". We can be tough in self-defense too. That's all.

(no subject)

He says he's "not religious", but so many times he talks about the bible, and G-d. You have to understand, I understand him totally, because I am the exact same way.

First of all he's over the top. Go to any Jewish person's home, there are a MILLION Michael Savage's in any Jewish family. They're all over the place. They say bombastic things. They're over the top. They don't mean HALF of what they say.

I don't know how to explain it, but, I just think it's a Jewish thing. He gets crazy. It's why I like Howard, Savage, etc., and the other meshuggana Jews in the media. I *know* them. I lived with them. They screamed me. I screamed back. It's not something that Christians understand. Christians are raised differently. You don't get mad back, you just obey. It's not like that with us.

We're bombastic, well, you know, you know ME! LOL.

Take everything he says with a grain of salt and let it go by. You know why? Because he does. It's the way we live. We'll scream at each other, but then we'll forget what we said. It's ...well, it's just the way Jews are.

(no subject)

Interesting... I wasn't aware of that culture-difference. Though I actually wasn't raised a Christian (my mom still somewhat identifies with Buddhism & agnosticism & protestantism altogether in a weird way... or she just doesn't bother to contemplate it, my dad is atheist & I converted to Catholicism 2 years ago).

Not that this applies to you or Michael Savage (and this might even be a little off-topic), but I have this thing against excusing personality-traits or crediting good traits to "culture". Because then it gets to the point where the liberals eventually start excusing infidels for bombing & murdering people... because it's "part of their culture" and we have to be "toooolerant" of murder since we wouldn't "understaaaand". I could say, "Hey.. the reason I'm being selfish & opportunistic is because I'm half Chinese & that's considered normal in our culture" so that I could have more of an advantage for myself.. but I refuse to say anything like that. I really like Michael Savage (though personally I sometimes wish he would use the word "self-defense" instead of "revenge" because that's what it is against the Muslim terrorists), but I'm glad that he attributes that personality trait of his to himself and not his culture (because do you see the danger in giving credit to "culture" for your flaws?)

People are people and we are shaped by life experiences.. and those life experiences are influenced by culture, but when a person defines him/herself by mostly culture I think it's self-segregating & arrogant (judging from my own anti-American relatives in Thailand). I think that in a mainstream modern society like ours where much information is accessible through advanced communication around the world, it's much more easy to be open-minded (though many liberals seem to wrongly misinterpret being "passive" or "apathetic" as a good open-minded trait) & to shape yourself in such a way so as to be considerate of those around you (including yourself, b/c you can create a happy environment for yourself when those around you are happy in addition to the realization that you are contributing to the world in some good way). The whole "finding yourself" liberal philosophy is a big fat lie. Yes we have unique personality quirks, but not to such an extent that any one person can't identify with being a human being with basic needs. You choose & allow what will or won't influence you in life, therefore you create and shape yourself into the person you want to be. The "finding yourself" philsophy is just a liberal excuse to be inconsiderate & do whatever the heck you think accomodates your wants... because there never was a line drawn between "needs" & "wants".. in a secular society where there's no basis for that line anyway who knows & who cares?

I might've rambled, but hey it was good timing to get out some random points ;).

(no subject)

Well, yes I see your point about culture and excuses, but you know, people do have cultural differences, but the more we hang out together the less those are. But there's even state differences too. New Yorkers are considered pushy and aggressive and horrible (think Barbara Boxer...and MS too), and they have a different accent.

And in the UK, people from the North are considered way different than the people from the South of England, and even cities have their differences in types of people.

Anyways, interesting convo. I just don't want to think so intensely right now! LOL!

(no subject)

Aha you're right. For the sense of community and belonging I think people naturally adhere to different cultures.. just like rebellious teenagers actually think they're being rebellious (when everyone else in their circle of friends are rebellious in similar ways). Maybe being a true rebel means not getting acknowledged for it like us conservatives in San Franfreako? :(.

I suppose I should think through that whole culture concept a bit though I think that the general idea I got across made sense… I think cultural pride is good in moderation (though I personally don't like to display pride of any kind unless it’s harmless or I think it will benefit people around me in some way rather than just myself). To be honest I'm actually really just sick of Americans being taught to totally kiss foreign butt otherwise they’d be perceived as “racist” (and I'm sick of foreigners using that to their selfish advantage... i.e. my uncle/aunt/cousins). Not that there’s wrong in saying good things about other cultures, but it gets out of hand when Americans become brainwashed into being self-loathing. I don’t like how like idiots we’re supposed to eat out of the palms of Muslim terrorists hands, and call them “freedom fighters” according to New York Times… and probably a European cartoonist was murdered recently for drawing Muhammad I heard on the news radio this week (and the story seems overlooked as usual) . Okay well… I could be sounding repetitive 'cause I haven’t exactly been listening to the Savage Nation & being politically up to date.. sorry. And oops, another long comment. Don't worry it ends here ;p /end rant